Wedding Favor

An island inn that specializes in elopements

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etting married has become a full-time job—one for which the happy couple or their parents have to pay a fortune. Now there’s an option: Go to an island and elope! The Thorncroft Inn, on two and a half quiet Martha’s Vineyard wooded acres, specializes in spontaneous elopements and combination weddings and honeymoons. It’s a romantic escape, where children are discouraged and many of the 14 rooms have private entrances, four-poster beds with lace canopies, wood-burning fireplaces, whirlpools, and balconies; one has a hot tub on a private screened porch. There’s even continental breakfast in bed. You’ll pretty much never have to leave the place. So forget the invitations and the bridesmaids’ dresses and the band. Just make sure that everybody sends a gift.

The average American wedding costs $26,327. And, hey, if you do want to get married the traditional way on the Vineyard, you could always rent a lighthouse as a backdrop. That will only set you back $300 an hour.